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Friday, July 19, 2019

X-amining Weapon X #3

"The Common Right of Toads and Men"
May 1995

In a Nutshell
Weapon X recruits Gateway to assist the Human High Council's armada.

Writer: Larry Hama
Penciler: Adam Kubert
Inkerss: Dan Green & Mike Sellers
Letters: Pat Brosseau
Colors: Joe Rosas
Separations: Digital Chameleon
Editor: Bob Harras

Plot
Weapon X battles a pair of cyborgs en route to the former X-Men base at Wundagore Mountain, where he meets up with Carol Danvers, an old friend, who agrees to take him to Gateway. Back in London, the Human High Council debates their next move as they hope Weapon X is successful in his mission. Back at Wundagore, Carol brings Weapon X to Gateway, and he urges the aboriginal mutant to help lead the High Council's armada against Apocalypse. Gateway refuses, but just then another group of cyborgs, led by Pierce, attack. Gateway teleports himself, Weapon X, & Carol onto Pierce's airplane, and Carol sacrifices herself to push Pierce out of the plane, then detonate a cluster of grenades as the pair fall through the air. As Weapon X mourns his friend, Gateway agrees to at least go to Paris and allow the Human High Council to attempt to persuade him to help.

Firsts and Other Notables
With the control system for the Human High Council's armada damaged last issue, Weapon X seeks out Gateway in this issue to serve as the navigator for the fleet so it can continue in its mission.

Through the Looking Glass
This issue introduces the Age of Apocalypse Gateway, who is not mute, and is determined to record as much of human history as he can before the world ends.


It also introduces the Age of Apocalypse Carol Danvers, an agent of the Human High Council tasked with protecting Gateway.


A Work in Progress
Weapon X returns to the original base of the X-Men at Wundagore Mountain, as seen in X-Men Chronicles #1.


The Grim 'n' Gritty 90s
Weapon X says the Kelly Pact was never worth the “magnetic media it was encoded on”.


Austin's Analysis
After a pair of relatively engaging issues, and at a time when many of the other series are gearing up for their big conclusions next month, this is something of a lackluster issue. In terms of craft, it's certainly on a level with the previous pair, with Hama & Kubert both performing ably on the scripting & art. But plot-wise, not a whole lot happens in it: Weapon X arranges the services of Gateway to assist the Human High Council's nuclear strike (or rather, convinces Gateway to try to be convinced to help), but there's a lot of repetitive "fighting slobbering cyborgs" along the way in the service of that minor plot advancement. And while "Gateway is talkative & modern" is, on paper, fun in that "mirror universe opposite" kind of a way, it's hard to get too excited about seeing the Age of Apocalypse versions of Gateway & Carol Danvers (who is basically Prime Carol Danvers with a less complex backstory and weird eye makeup). The end result is an issue that feels more wheel-spin-y than most AoA issues, which also some of the fun alt universe shenanigans that could paper over that.

Next Issue
Next week: Amazing X-Men #3, Gambit and the X-Ternals #3 and X-Calibre #3!

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4 comments:

  1. Dan Green is back as inker! I loved when he inked Marc Silvestri back in Uncanny X-Men, and way before Scott Williams started inking him and turning him into a Jim Lee wannabe. Who inked Silvestri during his Wolverine run? Was it also Green?

    Why is Wolverine so upset with Scarlet Witch’s death? According to that Tales of X-Men (is this the correct title?), he had barely joined the team when she was murdered.

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    Replies
    1. Green continued to ink Silvestri throughout his run on Wolverine, with occasional help from the likes of Milgrom, Barta, and Rubenstein. Dan Green is my favorite inker of all time, although his style does not mesh well with all pencillers. He brought great life to John Romita. Junior's artwork during that penciller's X-men runs. Compare those issues to the much stiffer ones inked by Al Vey and others. I even preferred his inks over Joe Madureira's early X-work where it leant a more natural feel to the characters and backgrounds than Townsend's.

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    2. Yeah, you could make a case that Dan Green is the unsung artistic hero of the X-Men from the late 80s into the early 90s.

      Why is Wolverine so upset with Scarlet Witch’s death? According to that Tales of X-Men (is this the correct title?), he had barely joined the team when she was murdered.

      X-MEN CHRONICLES, but yeah, it was shortly after he joined that Scarlet Witch died. I guess he's sad now cuz he learned about her after he'd been with the team for awhile and recognizes the loss now?

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  2. When I read Logan’s reference to “Gee-Dub” I thought George Washington Bridge, not Gateway, but I doubt that was a specific feint on Hama’s part.

    // "fighting slobbering cyborgs" //

    And one looks to be a parody of Cable — if barely (barely a parody, that is; quite a bit like Cable) — who after grafting himself to his partner Mangle is literally covered in cables.

    // weird eye makeup //

    Not unlike the war paint / tattoos sported by Logan and Jean, although Carol’s eyes are consistently a pupil-less solid white as well; Logan’s are depicted as solid red at times, presumably just for effect.

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